Women of the Scriptures - Lydia

Women of the Scriptures - Lydia

Favorite pastime:  Spreading the Good News that Paul, Silas and Luke recently brought to our area when they formed a Church here in Phillippi.

Favorite place to eat:  In the words of someone who would come much after my own time, “There is no place like home”.

Favorite food:  Living in a trade city like Phillippi we have grand markets with all of the fruits, vegetables and spices one could possibly ever want.  It is a big difference from our garden in Thyatira.

Education:  I come from a wealthy family and was very well educated.  I married well and secured a position in the Dyer’s Guild in Thyatira learning to make the famous purple dye.  I later moved to Phillippi to become a tradeswoman, selling the dye in this lively trade market between Asia and Europe.

Favorite thing about where I live:  Phillippi is a bustling city with many travelers coming through to trade goods.  That is why some of us women go to the bank of the Gangites River to pray on the Sabbath, it is the only place we can find some peace and quiet.  This is where we met Paul and Silas and where I opened my heart and accepted Jesus Christ.  (Acts 16:14)

Favorite thing to do with my family:  We were all baptized together and we are zealous in spreading the Gospel.  We support the Church any way that we are able.  (Acts 16:15)

Children:  (The Scriptures say nothing of children and it is speculated that Lydia was a widow with older children living in her household.  Cameos: The Women of the New Testament)

Where did you grow up:  I grew up in Thyatira, a city in the district of Lydia (where I received my name) in Asia Minor. 

Hobbies:  Assisting in the building of the Church, selling purple dye (a symbol of my high status in the community) and hosting Church leaders in my home.

Anything else interesting about you:  I am the first European convert mentioned in the New Testament.  My home is a safe place for all Christians and is often used as a Meeting House.  My story is in Acts 16:14-40.

Women of the Scriptures - Esther

      Women of the Scriptures - Esther

Favorite pastime:  Being the wife of the King I am very busy in the palace, but I most enjoy writing letters to my cousin Mordecai and my people.

Favorite place to eat:  There is no place finer than the palace.  The banquets are quite extravagant.  It is often my responsibility to plan them. 

Favorite food:  We have every food known to our Kingdom here but I am quite fond of the fruits and vegetables that we grow in our own garden.

Education:  My parents died when I was young and I was brought up and educated by my older cousin, Mordecai, who was esteemed in the world of Jewish and cultural knowledge and passed that knowledge on to me.

Favorite thing about where I live:  There is so much variety here at the palace.  Many foreign people and unusual creatures pass through to pay homage to the King on their way to other lands and pay tribute to the King by giving all sorts of strange and exotic gifts.

Favorite thing to do with my family:  Celebrate Purim, the commemoration of the salvation of the Jews from the evil plot of Haman.  At the risk of my own life I approached my husband, the King, to reveal Haman’s plot to annihilate the Jews.  (Esther 7)

Children:  I have a son named Darius who will succeed as King.

Where did you grow up:  In the city of Shushan near the palace of the King.

Hobbies:  Preparing banquets, spending time with my family, and reading.

Anything else interesting about you:  I am the wife of King Ahasuerus, chosen by the King for my beauty to replace Vashti, the former Queen, who was dethroned after refusing to come unto the King when he called.  After a lengthy purification process that lasted over a year I was presented to the King with a number of other maidens and was chosen by the King to be his Queen.  I did not reveal that I was a Jew until much later when it was necessary to save my people.  (Esther 2)